Page of Calligraphy

Calligrapher Abd al-Majid Taleqani

Not on view

The shikasta or "broken script," developed in the seventeenth century, reached its peak in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. This script had little currency outside the borders of Iran and was created to fill a need for quick and efficient yet beautiful writing that would be used primarily for private correspondence and administrative documents. In shikasta horizontal regularity is not the norm; instead words fluidly rise and fall, emphasizing delicate grace and movement.

Page of Calligraphy, Abd al-Majid Taleqani (Iranian, Taleqan 1737–71 Isfahan), Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

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